Annals of Botany🌊🌿Join us to learn about the newly published “Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning: Increased species diversity does not increase the productivity of cultivated kelp” in @AnnBot by Abby Gilson and co-authors. (1/9)
👉 https://doi.org/qsqg
Does more biodiversity always mean more productivity? On land, multi-species plant communities often outperform monocultures. But does this principle apply to kelp farming? (2/9)
Researchers tested whether cultivating multiple kelp species together increases biomass production compared to monocultures. They worked with:
• Saccharina latissima
• Alaria esculenta
• Laminaria digitata
Across two coastal sites in Co. Cork, Ireland. (3/9)
They grew:
• 3-species mixtures
• All possible 2-species combinations
• Monocultures of each species
And ran a second experiment to test whether density influenced productivity. (4/9)
What happened? Many multi-species plots didn’t stay diverse, they became dominated by a single species over time. (5/9)
The most productive treatments were those dominated by Alaria esculenta.
This points to selection effects and interspecific competition, rather than complementarity, driving biomass production. (6/9)
This points to selection effects and interspecific competition, rather than complementarity, driving biomass production. (6/9)
Importantly, the patterns were density-independent. Productivity was likely shaped by intraspecific competition and self-thinning early in development. (7/9)
So does biodiversity boost kelp yield? Not necessarily. The classic biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship does not automatically translate to kelp aquaculture. (8/9)
🌍However, multi-species assemblages may still enhance stability of biomass production, especially under future environmental change. (9/9)
👉 https://doi.org/qsqg
#aobpapers #macroalgae #kelpfarming #marineecology #aquaculture